


E is for Experience... or exasperation

by Nightheart



Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen, Inspired by the Omake, Koi-fish?, Sit-girl!, Waii! Byakushiiii!, Who wants a treat?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-07
Updated: 2012-11-07
Packaged: 2017-11-18 03:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightheart/pseuds/Nightheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why Byakuya Kuchiki has an unlikely tolerance for Zaraki's little demon-brat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	E is for Experience... or exasperation

E is for Experience.

"Byakushiiii! Waaai!" a tiny bundle of pink and energy hopped forcefully into the room, ebullient and cheerful as ever. The man in question gazed mildly down at "Zaraki's pink-haired little terror". 

The man in question would very much have liked to ignore her greeting just as he did all of her other inane prattle, but since she was nominally chairing the meeting he was attending in his Vice Captain's place, he simply fixed her with a cool look and assumed his seat.

"We should have another meeting at your place," she added, eyes sparkling at the prospect.

"I do not require further construction done upon my residence," he replied.

The servants had had enough trouble reversing the renovations from the last time.

"And you are to leave my fish alone Miss Kusajishi," he added for good measure. 

He had narrowed it down to the culprit stealing his prize-winning koi-fish from his equally prize-winning pond to being either Lieutenant Kusajishi or Lieutenant Abarai (who, according to Rukia, loved to fish). Renji still had enough respect for him to be wary of reprisal should he dare such a trick, so that left the impertinent Lieutenant of Eleventh Squad as the only other possible culprit. 

"How did you know it was me?" she said, staring at him in wide-eyed awe.

"Elementary," he said dryly. 

"Ne! Ne! We're going out to eat afterwards, you should come!" she invited, tugging on the sleeve of his captains haori like it was a bell-pull to summon servants. 

"We're having fish-cakes! Fish-cakes!" she pursued.

The Kuchiki deftly pulled out a mochi filled with sweet red bean paste and promptly stuffed it in her mouth. She chewed and remained blessedly silent. The head of Clan Kuchiki straightened and signaled that the meeting should proceed.

Lieutenant Momo Hinamori leaned over and whispered to Lieutenant Kira Izuru 

"Renji's right, Captain Kuchiki is intimidatingly strong."

Captain Kuchiki chose not to elucidate the fact that his ability to handle the little force of nature that was Zaraki's Little Demon was the fruit of many years of experience...

"Ara... and who is this cute little angel?"

Hisana Kuchiki elegantly bent down and picked up a pink-haired child in the Robes of a Soul Reaper. 

"Oh my, and you have mud and water all over you," she fussed, smiling happily for the first time in a while. 

The Mistress of the Kuchiki manor led the child over to the nearby wooden walkway and signaled to a nearby servant for towels and a blanket and food.

"Let's just get you all dried off and give you something to eat," she chatted cheerfully. "I've never met a child your age that isn't hungry."

A few hours later, some of the Seated Officers from Eleventh, Madarame and Ayasegawa by name, came along to fetch their wayward Lieutenant, but until they came Yachiru Kusajishi spent a very fun afternoon playing freely in the Kuchiki gardens, being fed all manner of sweet snacks, running around the manor in an endless game of hide-and-tag with the mistress, and generally being fussed over and made much of. The servants had complained but Byakuya Kuchiki had ignored them, his wife had not looked as lively as she had that night for many weeks. The continual pain of her failure to find her lost and abandoned sister continued to eat away at her, clouding her eyes with guilt that he would do anything to wash away. He could afford to ignore the inconvenience of hosting one small child to make his wife happy. 

Of course, the cat came back the very next day. 

Byakuya Kuchiki quickly learned that the only way to handle the walking force of nature was to keep her distracted with things she liked. The hyper-active child was annoying, but his wife liked her. Kuchiki had at first considered himself to be nothing more than an indulgent husband, he had not expected that the young Lieutenant of Eleventh would be a strange reminder of life and happiness, rather than of a love lost too soon after the time the first plum blossom bloomed.

And so now they had an odd sort of quasi-friendship. Yachiru Kusajishi had free access to and run of the Kuchiki Estate out of respect for his beloved wife's wishes. Byakuya Kuchiki had developed something of an unlikely tolerance for her. 

"Waaai! Waaaii! Byakushiiiii!" she cheered, tugging on his sleeve for another treat. 

He presented it as one would train a puppy, holding it out over to her and pointing to her seat. She sat. He tossed it her way. In these and other matters, experience was the key to victory.


End file.
